Ex-offenders

Ex-offenders are a segment of the workforce that face high levels of stigma and discrimination, often unnecessarily. Whether a one-time youth offender or someone who has served a sentence, many ex-offenders have transferrable skills and are motivated to work. Inclusive Employers outlines:

  • how to avoid indirect discrimination;
  • legal provisions for ex-offenders and employers;
  • best practice and useful links.

Here's a taste of what you'll read as a member on our website...

Ex-offenders | There are still a lot of taboos surrounding working with people who have convictions or have served a custodial sentence in prison, although it has been unlawful to discriminate against most ex-offenders in employment since 1974. There are over 8 million people on the government's Offenders Index, the official record of people with criminal convictions. Many of these people will have committed to their offense in their late teens, early twenties - and not reoffended since - and a large proportion will not have served a custodial sentence in prison. The biggest factor in determining whether someone with a conviction reoffends is whether or not he or she can secure employment. There are lots of attitudinal barriers that prevent employers from taking on someone with a criminal conviction and in most cases changing your working culture will free you up to be able to recruit the right person for the right job. | What employers can do | If your employment application form asks candidates to provide information about their criminal record, think about what details are really relevant. Chances are, if a candidate committed a petty crime in their teens and are applying for a job years later, his or her ex-offender status is irrelevant. However, if your organisation has a vacancy for a role in childcare, for example, it would be appropriate to enquire if applicants have any criminal convictions relating to children. If you are looking to employ ex-offenders, there are a number of specialist charities like NACRO or UNLOCK that can work with you. You can also look into offering on-the-job training or interview skills training and running targeted recruitment campaigns...

As a member, you'd get access to the full contents and other benefits, including supplementary inclusive policy templates and how-to guides on a range of topics, which make rights, responsibilities and legislation easy to understand and accessible for both HR teams and employees. They're free for members to download and available for non-members to purchase.

Members also enjoy free and reduced rate tickets to our events, including an introduction to inclusion and interactive sessions exploring inclusion and diversity, which can be tailored for in-house delivery. We'll keep you updated on the top news on inclusion each week, monthly case law briefings and are always available to answer legal queries through our helpline. 

If you'd like to learn more about membership, we invite you to read more on our site or to contact us at info@inclusiveemployers.co.uk or 020 7803 0689 to have a chat. If you're ready to join, you can do so right on our site by invoice or company credit card.

If you're already a member, log in to access full site contents, including our digital and downloadable resources.

Tags: 
ex-offenders
employment
recruitment
NACRO
UNLOCK
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA)
Police Act